ESA wins attorneys fees from State of Illinois

Bad legislation has a price. In the case of Illinois and its unconstitutional …

We all saw this coming from the moment Illinois passed the law. Championed by Democrat Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Illinois' video game law made the sale of violent and sexual explicit games to minors illegal. As expected, the law was quickly found to be unconstitutional after being challenged by the Entertainment Software Association. The ESA then sought to have the state foot the bill for its legal fees to the tune of $644,545.

Yesterday, the judge overseeing the case, Matthew J. Kennelly, gave the ESA most of what it was looking for. In awarding the over half-million dollars in attorneys fees, the judge sent a powerful message to politicians who are looking to score points on a hot-button issue, said ESA president Douglas Lowenstein. "Not only are efforts to ban the sale of violent video games clearly unconstitutional, they are a waste of taxpayer dollars," he commented.

In a state where the annual budget is over a billion dollars, $510,528.64 is a mere pittance. To taxpayers who are upset by what the see as wasteful government spending and are fearful of tax increases in an age of tight budgets, that amount may catch their attention.

Perhaps most troublesome is that the legislators pushing the bill and Gov. Blagojevich were aware that the law had little or no chance of ever being enforced. "From the day Governor Blagojevich announced that he would seek anti-video game legislation, it was clear to everyone that the proposal would be found unconstitutional," remarked Lowenstein. "It would waste taxpayers dollars in a protracted legal fight that would leave parents no better off."

Well, the fight was over quickly and the State of Illinois and its taxpayers are the clear losers. Will it be enough to discourage other states from passing unconstitutional laws? I'm not holding my breath.